Welcome to Issue 10 of Volume IV of Earth, Moon and Stars!(Wow! Missed both full moons in August! Thanks to all you faithfuls who keep looking to see if it’s there!) Note that this year we get 13 full moons!

In this issue:

Moon Names and Art (traditional names, plus some artwork)

Seasonal Calendar (Harvest Moon/full/new moon dates and times)

Moon Mechanics: Harvest Moon

‘2012’ (more on doomsday predictions)

Astrology (Urgencies | Taking Action)

MOON NAMES

Colonial Americans, Hopi, and Neo-Pagans, among others, called this month’s full moon the Harvest Moon. Traditionally, it is the full moon closest to the September equinox, which this year arrived just seven days before the full moon. This full moon nearest the equinox was given the term Harvest Moon because for many nights before and after “technical fullness”, it rises closer to sunset than usual, thus maintaining a sky light enough to allow finishing the harvest chores by moonlight. (See Moon Mechanics, below, for a technical explanation.) Since there is no noticeable period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around this time, farmers in the days before electricity could count on the lamp of the Harvest Moon to continue gathering their crops. Making up for the autumn season’s waning daylight, the Harvest Moon faithfully provides several nights of uninterrupted dusk-till-dawn light. This bonanza of moonlight remains the legacy of the Harvest Moon.

Of course, most of us are familiar with the early-1900’s romantic song “Shine On, Harvest Moon”. You can listen to The Four Aces’ rendition of it here.

The beautiful artwork you see here was created by Cyndi Lavin for the Bead Journal Project; she created one beaded quilt for each full moon. While this project is no longer online, you can see images of all twelve in previous issues of this blog. And you can visit her Beading Arts website and her mixed media art website Why Not Art for more diverse fun stuff.

On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each night. But when a full moon occurs near the autumnal equinox, the Moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. Why? The reason is that the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrower angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the full Harvest Moon. (For the full explanation, see EarthSky’s “Everything you need to know about the Harvest Moon 2012“.)

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ‘2012’

Each issue this year will include this section where we’ll take a look at interesting aspects of the significance of 2012, especially as it relates to astronomical events.

Much ado has been made over the past few years about the ending of the Mesoamerican “long count” calendar, with some eschatologists claiming the Mayans were predicting the end of the world, or the end of the world as we know it.

The Web is rife with both dire predictions for the December solstice (December 21 this year), and with calmer, saner explanations. One interesting Web site by a guy calling himself “John” out of Louisville, KY, boasts his site as the “official” site for Dec 21, 2012. Here you can browse all sorts of theories for why you should crawl under your bed and hide there. A calmer voice can be found at this SETI Institute page, written by David Morrison, director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe. Next month we’ll delve a bit more deeply into some of these theories.

Here’s a brief excerpt from Molly Hall’s Full Moon article this month at About.com:

This is a super-charged Full Moon. There may be ordeals or clashing of wills. If a situation is at the breaking point, the raw energies released here tip the scales. There can be a temporary loss of footing, before a new equilibrium is reached.

This Full Moon illuminates the vital power of the individual — think David and Goliath; your courage to act on the strength of your convictions; your willingness to go it alone, if necessary, to take a stand; the catharsis of being true to yourself; the rewards of going beyond your comfort zone; the thrill of acting on impulse; the exciting heat of friction between strong personalities; your impetuous side.

The fiery Full Moon in Aries on September 29, 2012 is a call for independent action, as is typical with an Aries Full Moon.

Full Moon in Aries

The above is from the introduction to Jeff’s article, Take Action. Check out his full article “Full Moon in Aries Horoscopes” for the full text, plus what this full moon means for your individual sun sign.

If you especially like (or dislike) something you see here, or would like to see something in particular covered in a future issue, or you have something interesting about the Earth, Moon, or Stars you would like to share, please leave a comment. I’m always interested in how folks who stop by here are moved/influenced/affected.

Until the full moon in October, here’s wishing you and yours a month of calm action and certainty.

The Earth, Moon and Stars blog is published once each Full Moon with (hopefully interesting) facts and lore about our moon and other sky phenomena. My wish is that you will have fun learning a bit more about our one and only natural satellite and how all of us — people, animals, plants, water, even rocks — are affected and connected by her.